Who Listens to a Stereo in their Cab'd Tractor?

[scootr]

I love rocking out to the oldies when mowing... whatever your listening device preference is choose high audio quality, pay once and enjoy. The Bose headphones are nearing 10 yrs old. Impeccable sound, fit and finish. I recommend them to anyone seeking good ear protection and communication.

 

[WinterDeere]

Apple air pods pro with noise cancellation for me..
add memory foam tips, and the noise blocking is perfect
You can still hear the tractor running, and could tell if there was an issue. But it is muffled enough to be hearing safe.
They actually can display the decibel levels, so you can see how loud something is to your ears
And the sound is better than factory cab speakers on tractors or UTVs

So, I've always wondered. I'm an engineer, have taken all the classic Controls Systems coursework, and understand under-, critically-, and over-damped systems. What I wonder is exactly what these things subject your ears to, in their effort to cancel loud impulse sounds. A gunshot, a hammer blow, or even the repetitive cycle of an internal combustion engine, all of these most create predictable leading and trailing edge effects, with regard to the response of any active noise cancellation system.

The trouble is, while we engineers can easily measure and demonstrate the instantaneous sound intensity to which your ears are being subjected at the leading and trailing edges of a sound pressure wave created by a gun shot, no two doctors can seem to agree on its physiological effects.

In the end, I'd favor blocking over cancellation, all day every day. It's not inconceivable that someday we find that noise cancelling headphones do not protect the ears in nearly the way it is assumed they do.

 

[bigtiller]

I've had my 3039R for a year now and turned the radio on once. There's a lot of other interesting things grabbing my attention while tractoring.

 

[deserteagle71]

My Branson has a Kenwood Stereo in from the factory, it works but I have contemplated changing it out.
I like a radio with the Weather Band built in and Bluetooth, the Magnums on the farm have the weather band and it automatically interrupts with any weather alerts. They don't have the Bluetooth though. My NH the radio is broke. One of these days I'll likely replace it.

I have one of these Jensen Heavy Duty receivers with bluetooth and weatherband installed in 3 of my 4x4 vehicles. They are expensive, but no problems with them in 15 years now and I see the exact same model is still available: Jensen Heavy Duty JHD1635BT

 

[scootr]

I have 2 JBL sound bars - they would work good in a cab environment too.

 

[Williy]

I get to listen to all the oldies in the car is more than enough
music for me. I don't think that I have spent 4 hours at one
time using the tractor and then I am not always in the tractor
have to get out to more things etc.

willy

 

[CoolTech]

Well, I just completed the upgrade of the stereo in my Kioti DK4210SE Cab. The upgrade consisted of a new, Kioti-compatible, bluetooth (&USB stick) head unit a small powered subwoofer, upgraded speakers... AND SPEAKER WIRING. I cap that because I discovered the Kioti uses some kind of choke/filter between the head unit and the speakers. So, if you toss out the absolutely junk 4" OEM speakers and replace them with something decent, you should run a new set of wires from the head unit to the speakers. Mind you, this is a pretty simple task as everything is up in the headliner - but just know that you should do that.

The upgraded speakers were, in my opinion, the best bang for the buck. I had to replace the head unit because mine was defective... but if you're looking for just one relatively low cost upgrade, I would recommend the speakers. They are also the easiest item to replace. I think the aforementioned choke/filter between the head unit and speakers is there to filter out lower frequencies because the OEM speakers can't handle them anyway. So, if you upgrade the speakers, go ahead and run new wires from the head unit to the speakers. (Note that I have a recent model Kioti and this was the case but your tractor could very well be different.)

The subwoofer is also very nice and it really rounds out the sound. The Kenwood model that I purchased (link below) has a wired remote that lets you adjust the "volume" of the sub and also the frequency range. I really like it a lot and now the in-cab sound system is very, very reasonable.

My equipment as follows:

Kenwood KSC-SW11 Subwoofer

Kicker 4" Speakers

New Head Unit

 

[K5lwq]

Glad it worked out. I may add the subwoofer to mine one day. Would be nice to get more bass at low level listening.

 

[5030]

I get to listen to all the oldies in the car is more than enough
music for me. I don't think that I have spent 4 hours at one
time using the tractor and then I am not always in the tractor
have to get out to more things etc.

willy

Never turned on the radio in my Focus RS since I bought it, never used the CD either. Came with XM and I let that expire too.

Only time I listen to the radio in the tractor is going from field to field on the road. Once in the field, the radio is off. I need to pay attention to what is transpiring out back.

 

[Paystar]

TYM with factory radio and speakers. It's on all the time.
New speakers would probably make a major improvement.
Curious about the subwoofer.

I put a radio in my Kubota but I rarely turn it on. Those factory speakers are so tinny, it sounds like crap. It's okay to listen to Rural Radio on Sirius though. Just music sucks with no bass.

 

[350c]

No longer have a cab tractor, but if I did, I’d probably be listening to Adrian Rogers, Charles Stanley, etc.—would be much easier to hear what’s going on outside than over music…and be a lot better for me!

 

[Elviscaretaker]

I purchased my Kioti DK4210SE Cab tractor about 18 months ago. It came with "OEM" rear speakers in the headliner and pre-wired for a stereo. At first I thought the idea of a stereo was kind of frivolous.

Well worth it to help keep your sanity Or piss you off if listening to talk radio.... Use it every time I'm in the thing.​

 

[HayFarmer]

If I'm listening to bluetooth or the stereo in my cab I can't hear a disc bearing going out or a spindle on my FM grinding. Just recently had an issue with the vacuum pump bearing going bad on the planters and if I'm distracted by noise that would have cost a couple thousand more to repair than it did.

I run my 47 year old noisy cab with the window open so I can hear what's going on. No way a stereo would work in that cab anyway.

 

[pwhite42]

I purchased my Kioti DK4210SE Cab tractor about 18 months ago. It came with "OEM" rear speakers in the headliner and pre-wired for a stereo. At first I thought the idea of a stereo was kind of frivolous. However, I soon found a Kioti-compatible stereo for ~$90 on Ebay. It took about 15 minutes to install it and since that time I must admit that I have enjoyed having some music playing while I "work". I keep a few hundred songs on a USB stick and I always found myself plugging that USB-stick in while letting the tractor warm up. Fast forward until present time and that $90 stereo has really turned out to be a piece of crap. Mind you, the thing is "traditional" size car stereo - but it is a mere 1" or less deep. Basically, nothing is in it. As time went on the left and right channel would intermittently go out and then any rough jar would pause the USB playback. Ugh. So I looked again on Ebay for "Kioti Stereos" and found that there's a new unit out (with the Continental name) and in corresponding with the seller, it is supposed to be a big improvement. So I purchased one and it has arrived. It too is less-deep than a conventional car stereo which helps it to fit in the headliner - but it still is a good 4-5" deep and significantly heavier that the first one. Fingers crossed. But now I have gone a little stupid. The stock speakers in the Kioti headliner are 4" in diameter and weigh about 4-5 ounces. Think transistor radio speakers. Tinny and way too sharp to be right by your head. So, I looked around and found that there's a large variety of drop-in 4" speakers available. I used amazon and bought a pair of highly-rated (Kicker brand) 4" speakers for a whopping $59. They should arrive in the next day or so - but I am hoping they are literally drop-ins. But then, having read a lot of positive reviews of these speakers virtually all recognized that they are still 4" speakers. So I need a subwoofer. Back to Amazon in search of a very small (not a teenager boom-boom subwoofer) I once again found a few choices - with good reviews. So I ordered one of those too. In total, everything cost about $400.... but I hope to have a very "adequate" stereo to make the cab all that more pleasant to spend time in!

Who else has done something to improve the sound in their cab? Any regrets?

I have a Jensen that fits my Kubota SSV65 skidsteer I bought from the dealer. It works really well. I had another Jensen years ago mounted on a motorcycle. No problems with either one.

 

[SEJones720]

I purchased my Kioti DK4210SE Cab tractor about 18 months ago. It came with "OEM" rear speakers in the headliner and pre-wired for a stereo. At first I thought the idea of a stereo was kind of frivolous. However, I soon found a Kioti-compatible stereo for ~$90 on Ebay. It took about 15 minutes to install it and since that time I must admit that I have enjoyed having some music playing while I "work". I keep a few hundred songs on a USB stick and I always found myself plugging that USB-stick in while letting the tractor warm up. Fast forward until present time and that $90 stereo has really turned out to be a piece of crap. Mind you, the thing is "traditional" size car stereo - but it is a mere 1" or less deep. Basically, nothing is in it. As time went on the left and right channel would intermittently go out and then any rough jar would pause the USB playback. Ugh. So I looked again on Ebay for "Kioti Stereos" and found that there's a new unit out (with the Continental name) and in corresponding with the seller, it is supposed to be a big improvement. So I purchased one and it has arrived. It too is less-deep than a conventional car stereo which helps it to fit in the headliner - but it still is a good 4-5" deep and significantly heavier that the first one. Fingers crossed. But now I have gone a little stupid. The stock speakers in the Kioti headliner are 4" in diameter and weigh about 4-5 ounces. Think transistor radio speakers. Tinny and way too sharp to be right by your head. So, I looked around and found that there's a large variety of drop-in 4" speakers available. I used amazon and bought a pair of highly-rated (Kicker brand) 4" speakers for a whopping $59. They should arrive in the next day or so - but I am hoping they are literally drop-ins. But then, having read a lot of positive reviews of these speakers virtually all recognized that they are still 4" speakers. So I need a subwoofer. Back to Amazon in search of a very small (not a teenager boom-boom subwoofer) I once again found a few choices - with good reviews. So I ordered one of those too. In total, everything cost about $400.... but I hope to have a very "adequate" stereo to make the cab all that more pleasant to spend time in!

Who else has done something to improve the sound in their cab? Any regrets?

I tried using the speakers in my DK4210 by connecting my iPhone to the aux input, but I couldn’t get it loud enough to hear over the engine without a lot of distortion. So I bought a set of noise cancelling headphones. I can hear them fine and they help protect my hearing. And no wires…they use a Bluetooth connection to my iPhone.

 

[Skoalstar]

See a thread I made . I pulled out the factory setup and threw in a Bluetooth amp and some JL 4” to start. I also added some JL 6.5s and a small sub . I saw some tweeters on sale on critchfield so I might throw some in their just to make it more ridiculous

 

[TN8Man]

I purchased my Kioti DK4210SE Cab tractor about 18 months ago. It came with "OEM" rear speakers in the headliner and pre-wired for a stereo. At first I thought the idea of a stereo was kind of frivolous. However, I soon found a Kioti-compatible stereo for ~$90 on Ebay. It took about 15 minutes to install it and since that time I must admit that I have enjoyed having some music playing while I "work". I keep a few hundred songs on a USB stick and I always found myself plugging that USB-stick in while letting the tractor warm up. Fast forward until present time and that $90 stereo has really turned out to be a piece of crap. Mind you, the thing is "traditional" size car stereo - but it is a mere 1" or less deep. Basically, nothing is in it. As time went on the left and right channel would intermittently go out and then any rough jar would pause the USB playback. Ugh. So I looked again on Ebay for "Kioti Stereos" and found that there's a new unit out (with the Continental name) and in corresponding with the seller, it is supposed to be a big improvement. So I purchased one and it has arrived. It too is less-deep than a conventional car stereo which helps it to fit in the headliner - but it still is a good 4-5" deep and significantly heavier that the first one. Fingers crossed. But now I have gone a little stupid. The stock speakers in the Kioti headliner are 4" in diameter and weigh about 4-5 ounces. Think transistor radio speakers. Tinny and way too sharp to be right by your head. So, I looked around and found that there's a large variety of drop-in 4" speakers available. I used amazon and bought a pair of highly-rated (Kicker brand) 4" speakers for a whopping $59. They should arrive in the next day or so - but I am hoping they are literally drop-ins. But then, having read a lot of positive reviews of these speakers virtually all recognized that they are still 4" speakers. So I need a subwoofer. Back to Amazon in search of a very small (not a teenager boom-boom subwoofer) I once again found a few choices - with good reviews. So I ordered one of those too. In total, everything cost about $400.... but I hope to have a very "adequate" stereo to make the cab all that more pleasant to spend time in!

Who else has done something to improve the sound in their cab? Any regrets?

My Kioti cab came with a POS music player so I quickly replaced it with a Dual bluetooth system and the cab's speakers already sound good for a tractor. I use my cell phone that has my music library, XM radio, FM radio and I can receive/send phone calls over the system. It Sounds pretty good for a tractor

 

[big bubba]

impressed with all the tech & options for tunes on the tractor. glad many of you are successfully hooked up.
me? i always look forward to tasks on my open station rig so that i can detach myself from tunes & social media...seems we all compulsively have to be connected & entertained no matter where we are or do.
Jamming on a tractor to me also seems risky as well. but know i'm in the minority here, just my take on a great forum subject. best regards, rock on!

 

[Tinhack]

No radio but I use noise canceling headphones that are Bluetooth linked to the phone in my pocket. I use the PI Music Player on my phone and listen to "oldies but goodies" I've been accumulating over the years. I've managed to acquire songs from the 50s on and have them grouped to play depending on the mood at the time. Beats radio play any day and there's no commercials.

Oh yeah, the headphones have a mic, and I could take a call but normally I don't.

 

[gbfdcapt4b]

I use a JBL Bluetooth speaker paired with my phone. Great sound with this setup. I can’t run at full volume because it would be too loud. Very versatile because you can use the setup in multiple situations (boat, UTV, Patio, etc.)